In February of 2018, Viz Media released the first movie of Hunter x Hunter called Phantom Rouge. The first time I’ve watched it, I became really invested in Retz’s story given that we don’t see many girls of Gon and Killua’s age in the canon timeline.
So this was pretty much a breath of fresh air not to mention that her background was such a tragedy that it only made me love her more than I should’ve. I generally don’t have soft spots for non canon characters but Retz managed to do the impossible. (Also I really love her design it was so unique and so her!!)
When the movie (sadly) ended, I was curious to know what people might think of it, what did they like, dislike and what were their favourite parts. Some comments were about the plot and it’s inconsistencies, some were about how they love the soundtracks and the tiny past glimpse that we got from assassin Killua as well as Kurapika’s childhood. And some just loved the animation.
But when it came to Retz..
The results were shocking to say the least.
Before I start talking about what I found, let me remind you that you have the right to hate characters in any shows whether they are anime or not. However, there is a thick line between hating a character and LOATHING a character. Especially if you have petty reasons to hate one for it. If you don’t like Retz then that’s fine it’s your choice. I’m addressing the ones who wanted her dead all along.
Yea I’m not joking. Some people literally sound like they’re cyber bullying her when she’s an ANIME CHARACTER. At first, I didn’t believe that such people would go that far. I figured that they might have not realized how toxic they sounded like and probably had a bad day. But as I continued searching, I started noticing that each of them had one thing in common.
The haters were mostly killugon fans.
And there’s much more. Worse than these.
(I cannot tell you how many times I got disgusted when I tried looking for proof. It was so petty that it hurts)
Now the question here is: Does Retz deserve the hate?
Thankfully, on the other side of the fandom, some general fans had a lot to say about it.
Some said they really liked Retz.
While others explained Killua’s unusual behaviour that he had towards her (he acted really unusually but since it wasn’t written by Togashi I can see why).
Now that we’re mentioning Killua, let me remind you that he never despised her. He was cautious and cold around her because he knew she was hiding something from them from the start and didn’t like how she was acting all friendly with Gon. But he still decided to give her a chance by giving her a compliment (by saying that her puppet has beautiful eyes) and warning her that it was dangerous to come with them to see Omokage.
To be honest, they both had a lot in common.
Both of their brothers are overprotective of them and share a twisted love.
They both don’t want to become like their brother. (Killua doesn’t want to be an assassin and Retz doesn’t want to steal eyes for her brother’s creations)
They both want to truly live.
They both want to be free and have a normal life.
At the end of the day, he tries saving her from the fire but he gets stopped by Gon because unlike Killua, Gon knows that Retz wants to get back with Omokage. To live in memories.
I desperately wanted to see more of this trio but sadly we didn’t see enough. I’m still glad I got to see this movie mainly because of the characters and not the plot.
Retz was one of the most saddest characters I have ever seen in the hxh universe and I really do think that she could’ve deserved better. Not to mention that she died twice. As a human and as a puppet. Rest in peace you angel ❤️
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